Conservation assessment plans

Vicki Humphrey <artlab [at] senet__com__au> writes

>... is currently undertaking a
>project for the Australian Government's Department of Communications
>and the Arts on behalf of the Heritage Collections Council (HCC) to
>examine existing models and methodologies for developing
>conservation assessment plans for heritage collections and their
>environments.

Materials are available from the National Institute for
Conservation/AIC on conservation assessment surveys and related
materials.  There have been some problems with these surveys and the
application of the data produced for the formulation of plans by
contracting institutions.  Kory Berrett analyzed the reports
produced by the NIC's conservation assessment surveys in an article
in the JAIC in 1994 (v. 33, n. 2).  The main problem was the number
of reports which were found to be useless by the contracting
institutions for applying for grants.  I have been following this
problem in recent years and found that another problem is the large
number of surveys which have not been completed.  A related problem
is the implementation of the reports' recommendations and the lack
of standard guidelines for estimating costs and methodology by
different conservators, that is specifically, the difference between
the recommended treatments of the survey conservator and the choice
of need and treatment by the institution and subsequently hired
contract conservator.  I pointed this out in a publication in 1993
(North American Archaeologist, v. 14, n. 4), and I understand from
conversations with Kory that a number of efforts have been directed
at correcting the problem.  You might want to talk to people at NIC
or to Kory directly.

Niccolo Caldararo
Director and Chief Conservator
Conservation Art Service

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:25
                 Distributed: Friday, September 4, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-25-004
                                  ***